After Her left, Yoren lay in bed, tossing and turning.
If Ifrit went with him, that ant one more person would be joining his journey. Given the current situation, Snowsant would definitely be following him for at least a while.
This forced him to seriously reconsider his next steps.
It was already decided—he was going to Victoria. As long as he could get in touch with Her's second uncle, the three of them should be able to settle down for the ti being. After that, he only needed to find Aina in the vast expanse of Victoria.
But then what?
What would he do once he found Aina either way?
Would he return to the Glasgow Gang, plunging back into disaster zones with his comrades, chasing fortune and survival between life and death?
Or would he stay at Aina's side, becoming her right-hand man and top fighter?
...
Yoren thought about it carefully and realized that neither path was truly what he wanted. More importantly, neither would help him fulfill his mission.
There was no doubt that he needed Aina's help—but just help. Unlike when he was in Chernobog, he was no longer the lost, aimless Yoren, blindly feeling his way through the world. Now, as long as he could ensure basic survival, he had things he needed to do.
And he wasn't alone anymore. He had Snowsant and Ifrit with him. While Aina would surely accept him as a friend, that was a matter of goodwill, not obligation. Without him, to Aina, Snowsant and Ifrit were just strangers.
But these were problems for later. There was still ti to figure things out. Right now, the most pressing issue was getting Ifrit out of Columbia.
Yoren had never been a pessimist. To be honest, he didn't find Her's request troubleso at all. If anything, he felt hopeful for the future.
A grin crept onto his face as he curled up in his pillow, imagining the grand adventures he'd have with Snowsant and Ifrit by his side.
—
By noon, Yoren dragged himself into the restaurant, dark circles under his eyes. He had been too excited to sleep.
After finishing his al, he set down his chopsticks and leaned toward Snowsant, whispering.
"Snowsant, pack up this afternoon. We're leaving."
Snowsant blinked in surprise. "So soon?"
"Yeah."
"Where are we going?"
"Victoria. Just pack your bag, don't bring too much. I've got money now. Oh, and don't tell anyone we're leaving."
"Got it."
Snowsant nodded, then stood up and hurried back to her room to prepare.
Yoren watched her go, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Maybe this was fate. Snowsant wasn't the first Operator he had t in Terra, but perhaps she was one of the few who would stay with him to the end.
She might seem innocent and naive, but Snowsant had her own convictions, her own lines she wouldn't cross. Still, she listened to him, trusted him. Ifrit, on the other hand... Ifrit was different. The stronger soone was, the more responsibility they carried, and with that responsibility ca a stubborn, unruly will.
Even without the powers of the Fla Demon, Ifrit was an exceptionally skilled Originium Arts user. But in her world, she had never been taught responsibility. All she had was raw power and an unchecked temper.
More than that, she had never truly learned the value of life. Her ferocity in battle didn't co from bloodlust—it ca from indifference.
Keeping her emotions intact, making sure she didn't beco a soulless war machine... this was what Her wanted for her.
—
Just as Yoren was deep in thought, he spotted Ifrit humming to herself as she strolled over, a plate of food in her hands.
Judging by how relaxed she looked, Her hadn't told her anything about their escape plan yet. That was to be expected. For safety, Her would likely only inform her at the last possible mont.
"Ahh, finally! BBQ ti!" Ifrit bead, settling down next to him.
"How much do you even like BBQ?" Yoren asked, amused.
"I love it! Hehe."
Resting his chin on his hand, Yoren watched her dig in. In a way, Ifrit and Snowsant were alike—both were carefree optimists. Even after surviving the horrors of the Fla Demon incident, sothing that would haunt most people in their nightmares, Ifrit could still sit down and polish off two boiled eggs, a bowl of ran, and a sausage like nothing had happened.
Leaning back in his chair, Yoren asked casually, "Ifrit, do you want to leave this place?"
Ifrit, mouth full of sausage, mumbled, "Huh? Didn't you ask this yesterday? I told you, Her won't let go. And even if she did, I wouldn't know where to go."
"Well, Snowsant and I are leaving."
"Go ahead then. No one's stopping you, hmph."
Despite her words, Yoren could see the flicker of displeasure in her expression.
Smirking, he leaned in. "Say, Ifrit, why do you love BBQ so much?"
"Because I like roasting things! Food, animals, people—"
"...Okay, that's kind of ssed up."
"What did you just say?"
Yoren grinned. "Oh, by the way, I heard there's a country out there where everyone has BBQ parties every day. If you don't grill sothing, they throw you in jail."
"...Huh?"
Like a cat catching the scent of fish, Ifrit froze, eyes locked on Yoren. "Are you serious?! There's really a BBQ country?!"
Yoren nodded solemnly. "There should be. Snowsant and I are going to find it."
"You guys... you're really going to look for the BBQ country?"
"That's the plan."
Ifrit's eyes shimred with longing.
Yoren pretended to frown. "But there's a problem."
"What problem?"
He spread his hands. "Neither of us knows how to grill. If we get there and can't BBQ, they'll kick us out. What do we do?"
Ifrit jumped to her feet. "I can!"
Yoren raised an eyebrow. "You can?"
"Yeah, I'm a pro at it!"
"So what? Her won't let you leave."
"I..."
Ifrit hesitated, slumping back into her seat, looking defeated.
Yoren leaned closer, voice softer now. "What if Her agrees?"
"...Huh?"
"I an, what if Her says yes? Would you go?"
Ifrit sat still, deep in thought. On the outside, she looked calm, but Yoren could see the war raging inside her.
Finally, she spoke. "I don't want to make Her sad. I'd hate to leave her. It'd be great if she could co with us."
"What if she forces you to go? What if she says no, and then smacks you if you don't listen?"
"Pfft! Like that'd ever happen! Even if I begged, she wouldn't let leave."
Yoren sighed dramatically. "Yeah, you're probably right. Oh well, I guess Snowsant and I will just go find the BBQ Kingdom without you."
With that, he picked up his plate and walked away, leaving Ifrit sitting there, staring at her food, pouting.
A mont later, he could hear her huffing under her breath.
"...BBQ Kingdom, huh..."
The setting sun gradually sank into the horizon, leaving behind a fading glow before darkness swallowed the sky completely.
Snowsant had already packed her belongings and was now sitting in Yoren's room, her backpack resting beside her.
There wasn't much to prepare. Yoren's personal possessions amounted to little more than a change of clothes, his red scarf, and, of course, the 100,000 Terra coins that Her had given him.
Still, for a long journey, essentials were needed. Yoren tossed the fruit lantha and the others had sent into Snowsant's backpack, grabbed a plastic bag, and stuffed in a few bottles of water. As for food, they could purchase that once they reached the city—money wasn't an issue now.
Yoren had already inford Snowsant that Ifrit would be traveling with them. Though this would turn their journey into an outright escape, Snowsant wasn't troubled by it. In fact, she spun in circles with excitent.
As fellow Infected and girls of similar age, Snowsant and Ifrit had always been close. Back at Base No. 4, they used to play jump rope together. Ifrit would often share her candy, and Snowsant would tell her stories of her past travels.
As the night deepened outside the window, Yoren checked the ti—it was almost ti to leave.
A knock ca at the door, right on schedule.
Her stepped in, her face unusually serious. Normally composed, she couldn't help but show her tension. After all, helping an experintal subject defect was no small matter.
Behind her, a slender figure followed—Ifrit.
Her had draped a large, dark brown windbreaker over her, covering even her hair. Her eyes were red, likely from crying. It seed Her had just explained the entire escape plan to her. The emotions of worry and reluctance had surged, but no amount of pleading had changed Her's decision.
Yet, Ifrit was here, standing before Yoren. That ant she had accepted it.
Looking at her small, somber face beneath the windbreaker, Yoren felt an odd sense of awkwardness. Why did this feel like parents sending off their child?
As the leader of the escape, he knew he had to break the silence first.
"Hey... you're here."
Ifrit walked up to him, head lowered—then suddenly raised her foot and kicked him in the calf.
"Ow!"
Her red eyes glared at him, full of frustration. She pointed at him accusingly. "You knew about this plan all along! And you even tricked this afternoon! You're so bold!"
Yoren rubbed his leg and laughed nervously. "Hey, hey, I was just ssing with you."
Her glanced at the ti and spoke firmly, "Alright, enough playing around. Get ready. The guards at the gate will change shifts in ten minutes. That's your window to exit through the western protective wall."
"Wait, what?"
Yoren frowned in confusion.
Even he knew that Rhine Lab's security didn't rely on manpower alone. Their main defense system was high-tech surveillance. The protective wall around Base No. 3 was equipped with infrared sensors. The mont soone triggered it, alarms would blare, and the automated defenses—drones and turrets—would activate.
He turned to Her. "Going out through the wall? Wouldn't that expose us? How's that any different from breaking through the front gate?"
Her gave him a reassuring look. "It won't. We have internal support."
"Who?"
"lantha. She'll disable the infrared detection for exactly thirty seconds. Once you're out, she'll restore it and modify the system logs. That way, no one will notice the breach."
Yoren raised his eyebrows. He hadn't interacted much with lantha, but he hadn't expected her to be so reliable.
One lingering question remained. "Her... what about Saria?"
"She doesn't know."
Of course. Her had kept this from her. Since the Fire Demon incident, Saria had been busy. Yoren hadn't seen her in nearly five days.
Her glanced at Ifrit, then turned to Yoren with quiet determination.
"I'll explain everything to Saria myself. Whether she understands or not, this is my choice. You don't need to worry about it. Your job is to take Ifrit and leave Columbia safely. If fate allows, I'll find you again soday. Until then, take care of her."
Yoren nodded solemnly. "I will."
Her handed him a small slip of paper with a string of numbers written on it. "This is my second uncle's contact information. Call him when you reach Victoria. I'll give him a heads-up. Just tell him what you need."
Yoren carefully tucked the note away, then, feeling uneasy, copied the number onto another piece of paper and placed it in Snowsant's backpack for safekeeping.
Finally, Her handed him sothing unexpected.
It looked like a bracelet—more than a dozen translucent yellow beads strung together.
Yoren assud it was just a keepsake and imdiately slipped it onto his right wrist. "Looks nice... must've been expensive."
"It wasn't. I had lantha make it."
"Huh? Isn't it just a bracelet?"
Her shook her head. "No. Those beads are Originium."
Yoren quickly understood.
For him and Ifrit, Originium was essential for combat. But carrying large, raw Originium would be too conspicuous. This bracelet had clearly been processed—it didn't match the standardized Originium units used worldwide. The beads resembled decorative marbles. Unless examined closely, no one would suspect what they truly were.
Her explained, "The energy stored in this bracelet is equal to an S-grade Pure Originium. We didn't have ti to make more. Use it wisely—it should last you a while."
"Got it. Thank you."
Under the cover of night, Her led them to the western protective wall of Base No. 3. As expected, because of the upcoming shift change and the reliance on automated defenses, there were no patrols in sight.
Stopping ten ters from the wall, Her checked the ti. "lantha will disable the sensors in one minute. You only have thirty seconds to get over. Don't hesitate."
Though her voice remained calm, Yoren noticed her fingers trembling slightly.
At last, Her turned to Ifrit, gently brushing a hand over her head.
"Like I told you before—don't be afraid. Go out there and see the world, just like you wanted."
Ifrit nodded. "I'm not afraid. Yoren promised to take to the land of BBQ."
Her blinked. "BBQ land? Isn't the plan to go to Victoria?"
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